2013 Reappraisal

Property Taxes

The property or ad valorem tax is the primary source of revenue for local governments.
Property tax revenues are used to operate schools and pay for vital services such
as law enforcement, fire protection, public health, and more.

The amount of property tax you pay is based upon the value of your property and
the tax rate as determined by your local government. The Tax Assessor’s Office determines
the assessed value of all taxable property in the county. The Board of Commissioners
and the governing bodies of our cities and towns determine the spending priorities
for their respective jurisdictions. The governing bodies will also determine the
amount of revenue that will be available from all sources other than the property
tax. The resulting tax rate is based upon the budgetary needs of the local governments
after considering all other sources of revenue.

The Forsyth County Tax Assessor/Collector administers the property tax for the county,
Bethania, Clemmons, Kernersville, Lewisville, Rural Hall, Walkertown, Winston-Salem
and Tobaccoville as well as all fire protection districts.

Statutory Requirements

North Carolina law requires each county to reappraise real property (land, buildings
and other improvements) at least every eight years. The law allows counties to reappraise
more frequently at its discretion. Forsyth County has generally performed reappraisals
every four years since 1988, which lessens the shift in values that occur over an
eight-year period. The law also requires counties to appraise real property uniformly
at its true value in money. True value in money is “the price estimated in terms
of money at which the property would change hands between a willing and financially
able buyer and seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell and both
having reasonable knowledge of all the uses to which the property is adapted and
for which it is capable of being used” (NCGS 105-283).

The Tax Assessor’s Office reviews every sale of real property recorded since the
last reappraisal. Our appraisers utilize a neighborhood by neighborhood approach
to the reappraisal, analyzing only the sales within or close by each neighborhood
to the greatest extent possible. Some sales are “disqualified”, such as those between
family members, related corporations, gifts, etc. as these sales usually do not
represent market value. The needs and compulsions of buyers and sellers obviously
influence sale prices. Analyzing all recent sales allows the Tax Assessor's Office
to account for unusual circumstances such as those described above and develop a
uniform schedule of values, standards and rules that can be applied to all properties.
The application of the schedule may not exactly match every recent sale price; however,
the schedule insures that each parcel of real property will be treated uniformly.

The 2013 Reappraisal

The assessed value utilized in calculating your 2012 tax bill was determined by
the application of the Schedule of Values, Standards and Rules used in the 2009
reappraisal. The 2013 Schedule of Values, Standards and Rules was used to determine your new assessed value,
which is effective as of January 1, 2013. This means the change in value shown on
your reappraisal notice occurred over a four-year period. Real estate values have
changed since 2009. Property values generally do not change consistently throughout the
county. So the primary reason for a revappraisal is to periodically re-equalize property values
to preserve uniformity and equity within the tax base.

Real Property Versus Personal Property

Real property in Forsyth County was last reappraised in 2009. Personal property,
such as automobiles, trucks, trailers, boats, business equipment, etc. is listed
and appraised every year. This difference in the way real and personal property
is valued has an effect on the amount of taxes you will pay before and after a reappraisal.
This is because the same tax rate is applied to both real and personal property
in North Carolina. Personal property values are not affected by reappraisal; therefore,
a lower tax rate will reduce the amount of tax levied on personal property.